This Is Us
by delicatelyglitterywriter
Summary: A series of unrelated one-shots from my Tumblr. Some will be fluffy, some will be angsty. We'll see with what people prompt me with.
1. Chapter 1: She'll Be Back

**Prompt:** Fitzsimmons (of course, who else haha) + 60. "Before you decide to murder me, let me explain…"

Pretty sure this was meant to be fluffy, but I had a lot of feels after the most recent episode

* * *

"Do tell."

Jemma stood there with her eyebrows raised and her arms crossed. She didn't know whether to be amused or disappointed.

"It was Daisy's idea."

"No, Fitz, don't go blaming Daisy. She's-"

"It's true!" Fitz insisted.

"She's not here, Fitz! How could it possibly-"

"She came up with the idea shortly before the whole Maveth thing!" Fitz cut in again. "But I couldn't find one until recently."

"But why couldn't you have waited until she came back to get it?"

"I made a promise, okay?" Fitz rubbed his brow. "I promised her I'd get this model."

"Okay, but I still don't understand-"

"It's rare, Jemma." Fitz emphasised his words with a hand gesture. "If I'd waited, there's no guarantee I'd have been able to get it.

Jemma nodded slowly in understanding. She uncoiled her arms and delicately ran her fingers over the machine cautiously.

"You do realise this is highly immature, right?" Fitz chomped down on his bottom lip to keep from giggling like a twelve-year-old.

"It's Daisy," he said instead, with a relatively straight face. "What do you expect?"

"True," Jemma chuckled. Just then, it let out a loud fart sound, causing Jemma to jump back and wrinkle her nose up in disgust. Fitz, however, threw back his head and laughed.

"Fitz!" Jemma whined.

"Jemma!" Fitz imitated her tone in between bouts of laughter, eliciting a small smile from her. She ducked her head as she pushed him playfully backwards.

"I hate you, Fitz."

"Nah, you don't." His laughter died down when Jemma suddenly went eerily quiet. "Jemma?"

"How long do you think it'll be?"

"I don't know."

Both of them stood in silence, heads down for a moment until Jemma spoke up again.

"Do you think she'll ever-"

"Yes." Fitz had no doubt about it in his mind. He knew she'd come back, someday. She had to. "And when she does, this'll be waiting for her."

He smiled weakly at the fart machine sitting on the desk. Jemma didn't miss the way he said "when" instead of "if". It made her feel warm. Hopeful. Neither one of them knew what happened, but the next thing they knew, they found themselves in each other's arms, sharing a comforting kiss.

Jemma pulled away first after a long moment.

"In that case, let's put that somewhere safe."

"Agreed."

As they walked off with the machine together, it let out another noise, drawing laughs from both of them this time.


	2. Chapter 2: Road Trip

**Prompt:** Fitzsimmons + "WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT FILL UP A "SUPER BIG GULP" CUP WITH 5 HOUR ENERGY AND CHUG THE WHOLE THING. MY HEART HAS EITHER STOPPED COMPLETELY OR IS BEATING SO FAST THAT I CAN'T FEEL MY OWN PULSE.❜

* * *

Go on a road trip, they said. It'll be fun, they said.

Coulson's idea of "fun" clearly differed from Jemma's view of fun. This was not fun. It was a nightmare. She gripped the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. Beside her in the passenger seat, Fitz was clearly having a hard time, too. With his arm rested against the door holding his head and his leg shaking with the rapid bouncing of his foot, both of them shared the same thought.

We should have brought a damn icer.

 **1 hour earlier**

Jemma pulled up at the rest station and shut off the ignition. Daisy, Trip, Bobbi and Hunter were out of the van before Jemma could even unbuckle her seatbelt. She couldn't help but smile a little bit.

Coulson had been right, this road trip was exactly what they all needed.

She and Fitz joined hands as they walked inside, and then split to collect up a few supplies. The others were already taking care of stocking up on snacks. Jemma wandered over to the medicine section and selected a few things they might need. She nearly dropped her items out of fright when she suddenly heard Fitz shout "No!"

She hurried over to where she heard his voice and her eyes widened at the scene in front of her. Daisy was holding a "Super Big Gulp" cup in her hand with a mischievous smile and the others egging her on. Fitz was doing his best to split up the group.

"Daisy, whatever you do, do not fill that up and chug it!" he said sternly, pointing his finger at her much like a school teacher telling off a misbehaving school student.

"Or what?" Daisy asked giggling, Fitz's warning clearly lost on her. Jemma licked her lips, suddenly nervous. If she downed that…Jemma couldn't even finish the thought, so many scenarios ran through her head.

"Daisy, please don't!" Jemma pleaded, closing the distance between her and the group. "Have you forgotten about your powers? If you downed that-"

"It'll be fine, Jemma!" Bobbi cut her off, dismissing her comment. "Daisy knows how to control her powers."

"Just remember you said that when our van gets shaken right off the road!" Fitz hissed.

"Guys, I can handle it!" Daisy said, calm as a cucumber. She turned and began to fill the cup up. Fitz and Jemma continued to plead with her, even going so far as to try and grab the cup from her. But the others playfully blocked them and grabbed them away from Daisy a couple of times.

They were having too much fun, Jemma realised suddenly, pulling herself from Hunter's grip. That's why they were acting like teenagers. They'd probably had too many snacks.

Perhaps this road trip wasn't the best idea after all.

The next thing they knew, Fitz and Jemma watched as Daisy climbed up on top of the ice cream freezer and chugged the entire drink down, the others cheering. Jemma was nothing short of horrified.

"Jemma, pay for those before we get kicked out," Fitz urged her, knowing there was nothing they could do to stop this now. Fitz was right; no sooner had she finished purchasing her items that she saw security escorting her friends out. She sighed and fought back the embarrassment rising to her cheeks.

"Thank you, ma'am, have a nice day."

"You too," Jemma said, rushing to leave. That was one place she was never going back to. At least not with them.

She slammed the door as she climbed in, the sound drowned out with the other's laughter. She took off, not saying a word.

 **Present time**

The noise in the back was almost unbearable, and Jemma's patience was running thin. The straw that broke the camel's back was Daisy.

"MY HEART HAS EITHER COMPLETELY STOPPED OR IS BEATING SO FAST I CAN'T FEEL MY OWN PULSE!" she shrieked gleefully over the others. Jemma almost slammed on the brakes. Fitz's fists instantly clenched. This is exactly why they'd told Daisy not to.

Two seconds later, the van began to shake. Fantastic. This certainly was the icing on top of Jemma's anger cake.

The others weren't helping. They were laughing along about how awesome a shaking van, going 60 miles and hour Jemma might add, felt while moving. Every muscle in her body tensed and she tried really hard to keep the van as well as her temper under control.

But it only took a short while for both to slip from under her control.

It was then that Jemma decided that she'd had enough. She pulled over and slammed her hand against the wheel as she shouted her friends in the back.

"Enough!" A silence fell over the group. It was the sweetest sound she'd heard all day. "Everybody out! And take your bags with you."

The team were too shocked and scared by her outburst that they did so silently.

"Door," Jemma barked. Daisy stepped forward and closed the door. Had not Jemma been so irritated, she'd have laughed at their confused looks. Once the door slid shut, she floored it, leaving the others stranded on the side of the road.

They drove in silence for a few moments, before Fitz started to laugh.

"What?" Jemma snapped.

"That's got to be the first time you've actually done something about annoying passengers." Upon Jemma's brief glare, Fitz caressed her shoulder. "It's adorable, Jemma. I'm laughing because you're being really cute."

Even though she didn't it want to, she felt some of her anger subsiding.

"Ugh, you are so cliche, Fitz!" That earned her an extra laugh from him. They drove a few more minutes in relative silence, allowing both of them some time to calm down.

"You know, Coulson's not going to be too happy that we ditched them in the middle of nowhere," Fitz said. Jemma shrugged, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Before we left, he said we were to have a relaxing time. Our tag-alongs were not relaxing, so we took appropriate measures to make ourselves feel relaxed again." Fitz smiled at her comment.

"You thought about that the moment you considered throwing them out." Jemma's smile confirmed his suspicion. "Clever, Simmons."

Jemma smiled. Yes, this road trip was going to be exactly what her and Fitz needed.


	3. Chapter 3: Haunted House

**Prompt:** Fitzsimmons + "There are certain moments where i consider you someone with brilliant ideas and a good future. This is not one of those moments."

* * *

"You know, Jemma, there are certain moments where I consider you someone with brilliant ideas and a good future,-"

"Because I _am_ brilliant and I _do_ have a good future."

" _But_ this is _not_ one of those moments," Fitz finished firmly. Jemma rolled his eyes at him, but couldn't help but smile.

"Relax, Fitz! What's the worst that could happen?"

"Death," he answered immediately. "Or did you forget about that incident with May?"

" _Don't_ bring that into this," Jemma snapped. "That was different. There were actual ghosts involved. This one is just people pretending to be ghosts."

"But-"

"I've got some of the needles for if we come across the _highly unlikely_ scenario that there are real ghosts here."

Fitz slumped his shoulders, having nothing to answer with. This was a bad idea, he was sure of it. He just couldn't ignore the tight feeling in his stomach. Maybe it was just the fear of entering a haunted house. He shrugged it off and grabbed Jemma's hand as they both entered.

The place was impressive as far as haunted houses went. It was spotless - if you didn't count the dried blood on the walls (which Fitz hoped was fake) and the scary images plastered around everywhere.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Jemma gushed. Fitz shrugged.

"Sure, if you consider haunted places to be 'magnificent'." Jemma whacked him lightly on the arm, smiling.

"Try looking at how real the props look," she suggested, wandering over to the blood to investigate. Fitz tried what she had said, and quickly found himself admiring how much effort had gone into making it feel real.

The pair wandered from room to room, analysing each prop and laughing.

They were in a child's nursery, pointing out the props again when thunder rumbled in the distance. Jemma's grin grew wider.

"Isn't this just perfectly scary? A storm approaching while we're in a haunted house!"

"Perhaps we should leave," Fitz suggested, raising his eyebrows contemplatively. "Just so we don't get caught in the storm."

Jemma furrowed her brow thoughtfully. She _would_ like to stay and be even more spooked by the storm, but Fitz was probably right. If they were still here when the storm came, there'd be no way of telling how long they'd be stuck there. While neither one of them was scared, neither of them were too keen about spending the night in a haunted house - especially not with strangers around. Jemma had seen some teenage boys before, and she wasn't too keen on dwelling on thoughts of what they might do if they all got stuck.

"You're right, let's go," Jemma decided, heading for the door. Just then, the power went out, causing Jemma to jump. A second later, she felt a flashlight pressed into her hand.

"I brought them, just in case." Jemma smiled gratefully at him, ignoring the gnawing in the pit of her stomach growing larger with each passing second.

"Fitz, wait," she whispered, putting her hand on her boyfriend's arm. Fitz stopped in his tracks. "I have a bad feeling."

"It's just a power outage, Jemma," he assured her quietly, although still turned around fully. "It's probably just part of the experience."

Jemma laughed nervously, thankful that Fitz was trying to comfort her.

"I don't know, Fitz," she sighed. "I just…"

A scream from downstairs followed a second later, causing Jemma to almost jump out of her skin. Fitz put his arms around her, but she pulled back, reaching for the door.

"Jemma? What are you doing?"

"Closing the door." He could hear the fear in her voice, and heard the soft click of a lock locking. He was confronted with Jemma's terrified face.

"Woah, Jemma, calm down," he soothed. "It's all probably-"

"No, Fitz," she cut him off. She took a deep breath to get her nerves to stop shaking before she continued. "I've been to haunted houses before. Screams are _always_ followed with laughter, or _some_ other noise. Either laughing because they were scared by nothing, or crying because they're too scared, or more screaming. Listen."

Fitz strained his ears to hear something, but couldn't hear anything.

"I can't hear anything."

"Exactly."

The tight feeling that Fitz had had earlier came back, gripping even tighter than before. Jemma was right, it was too quiet. He held his flashlight a little tighter.

"We should notify Coulson. It could be nothing, or it could be something big. Better safe than sorry, right?"

Jemma nodded in agreement, dropping to her knees and digging through Fitz's backpack which he'd dumped on the ground upon entering the room. Jemma had just pulled out the iPad when another cry came from somewhere else in the house.

"No! Please, no! Please, don't! NO!"

Jemma took a deep breath to keep her nerves in check and Fitz gulped.

"Not good."

"No, not at all."

* * *

 **A/N:** Dun, dun, DUUUUUNNNNNNNNN! What happens next? Should I write the rest or leave it as it is?


	4. Chapter 4: Pizza For Jemma

**Prompt:** "pizza"

 **Set between seasons 2 and 3**

* * *

It started in the back of the armoury. It trailed through the hall, into the janitor's closet, then out again, up a flight of stairs, through the recreational area and into the kitchen.

Bobbi was sure she'd never seen so much flour in her life. On the floor, no less. According to her knowledge, flour belonged in different recipes, not all over the floor. She wondered why anyone would have flour in the back of the armoury to begin with.

Her questions were answered when she entered the kitchen and saw Daisy covered head to toe in flour. It was like a flour bomb had exploded. She looked a little like a ghost, and Bobbi had to try not to laugh.

"What're you doing?" Daisy looked up from aggressively trying to knead the bread. Trying being the operative word.

"I'm making pizza. Want some?" Bobbi couldn't stop the smile, but was able to bite back on the laugh. Daisy looked similar to a five-year-old desperately trying to prove that she could cook on her own.

"Daisy," Bobbi said gently, as if she _were_ talking to a small child, "last time I checked, your cooking skills weren't exactly up to par."

Daisy scowled at her, and Bobbi was almost certain that either a child _had_ inhabited Daisy's body, or that Daisy was having one of her "I want to be a kid again" days. She was placing her money on the latter.

"I can cook fine by myself," Daisy grumbled, looking back down at the bread. "It's the food that's not cooperating."

That confirmed the latter. If it were the former, she'd not have used a word such as "cooperating" (not many children knew that word). Bobbi sighed softly, feeling sympathy for her friend. These days were becoming more frequent since Jemma had been swallowed by that rock.

Bobbi hadn't known Jemma as well as the rest of them, but she'd liked her. She'd thought of Jemma as intelligent and brave, and hoped that she was surviving on the other side of the rock. She could sympathise with those who had cared deeply about Jemma - it was always hard losing a loved one.

Particularly on an orphan who considered someone as her sister. It was only understandable that she was retreating back into a shell of childlike tendencies - to create a safe cocoon where naivety and happiness reside; to make herself forget.

Bobbi reached out and tenderly touched the hacker's arm. She looked up, and Bobbi almost cried, seeing the pain on Daisy's face. She did the only thing she could. She pulled Daisy in for a tight hug. It wasn't long before the younger one was crying in her arms. She did her best to soothe her.

"I miss her so much." It came out slurred and hiccuped, but Bobbi understood. A single tear slipped out of her eye. It hurt to see those you cared for hurting.

"I know."

The two stood there for an undetermined amount of time, simply hugging. Eventually, Daisy's tears slowed and her breathing returned to normal, and she pulled away.

"I'm sorry." The words were barely above a whisper, but they reverberated off the silence in the kitchen.

"You don't have to be sorry for missing someone," Bobbi said, caressing her arms. Daisy nodded, looking down at the floor. "Let's finish making those pizzas now, okay?"

Daisy nodded again, turning back to the dough. Her arms were crossed across her chest, and Bobbi gently pried them away.

"You can't very well make pizza with your arms crossed." Her statement elicited a small laugh and she smiled softly. Just then, a quiet voice in her head (probably her inner Psychology student) whispered an idea into her head.

"Hey, how about we make a pizza for Jemma?" Bobbi suggested. Daisy's head shot up. "You know, for when she comes back. What do you think?"

Daisy nodded slightly, managing a small smile. For the first time since Jemma had gone, she felt hope.

"I think I like that idea."


	5. Chapter 5: Home

**A/N:** Based off the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Angst with a happy ending

* * *

How had it come to this?

She'd managed find on her own for years before all the SHIELD stuff happened. Why, then had she not been able to manage this time around?

She had nothing. She'd had to sell all her stuff, then her van. She had no food, no money, no resources, no job and nowhere to stay.

She sat sadly on a concrete step outside of in front of a building. She'd not bothered to check what kind of building it was before she sat down.

"Hey." A voice caused her to look up. A man, perhaps Malaysian, Filipino or Indonesian looked down at her. "You look like you could use a job."

Daisy turned her head and discovered that the building she was sitting in front of was an unemployment centre. She almost laughed at the irony.

"Yeah." She managed a weak smile. "That'd be nice."

"Well, it just so happens I'm in need of another worker at my restaurant. I'm Budi, by the way." He held his hand out, which she accepted.

"Daisy."

For the first time since she'd left, things were perhaps looking up.

 **22 days later…**

If this wasn't rock bottom, Daisy wasn't sure what was. She'd been hand-washing dishes in the back of Budi's restaurant for 22 days now. Eleven hours a day, kneeling on hard, concrete floors, washing hundreds of dishes, and all for what? Just above the minimum wage! She had to sleep in cardboard boxes in the alley behind the restaurant, and was forced to eat the cheapest fast food she could find.

In between waiting to get paid every Sunday, she often used up what little cash she received, and was forced to eat the customer's leftovers for several days in between paychecks. It was unhygienic and barely enough to sustain her, but what else could she do? She was starving.

After the restaurant closed, she curled up inside her little cardboard house, burying herself in newspapers and sighed. She was so tired of this. She was cold, tired, starving and homeless.

She didn't want to, but she couldn't help but think back to her SHIELD days. She'd never been in need there; there'd always been plenty of food and warm beds and people who cared for each other. Even the janitors were in a better position than Daisy was at that moment. The janitors, for the love of all things good!

The voices in her head whispered for her to go back, but she tried to shush them. The team wouldn't want to see her again. Not after she'd walked away from them the way she had. Maybe she could try and get a job as a janitor. At least then she'd have somewhere to stay and wouldn't have to starve.

Swallowing her pride, she stood up and cast one last look back at the restaurant before trudging off towards the base. Budi would have to find a new dish washer.

 **Some time later…**

It has been 2 months since Jeffery Mace had stepped down as SHIELD director. Well, that's what the press said anyway. Daisy suspected it was closer to a forced removal, given is dishonesty about his identity. Jemma Simmons had replaced him. And don't her her wrong, Daisy was happy for her, she really was - Jemma deserved it.

It's just that it would make her reunion with Jemma painful and incredibly humbling.

No matter how slow she had tried to walk, Daisy found herself in front of SHIELD headquarters sooner than she would have liked. Before she could think through what to do, the door opened, revealing Coulson and the others.

"Daisy!" Jemma sounded shocked. Not happy, or sad, or excited, or disappointed. Just shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Daisy bowed her head in shame. "Looking for a job as a janitor."

No one spoke for the longest ten seconds Daisy had ever experienced. They were all probably angry and disappointed with her.

"Why are you so skinny?" Jemma's question caused Daisy's head to shoot up. Upon her confused look, Jemma continued. "You look awfully malnourished."

Daisy dropped her graze to the ground again and licked her lips.

"Daisy."

"I kinda ran out of money and had to eat scraps and fast food," she admitted, feeling incredibly embarrassed. She was Daisy Johnson! She shouldn't have to come crawling back malnourished, filthy and weak.

Another excruciatingly long silence passed, and then Jemma began barking out orders.

"Fitz, warm up the lasagne in the fridge. Coulson, prepare a nice warm bath for her. May, get some fresh clothes for her. Mack, Elena, get the couch ready. Make sure there are lots of pillows. And fetch her the warmest, fluffiest blanket we have."

Each team member broke away to complete their assigned tasks. Daisy said nothing as Jemma guided her through the base to the bathroom and helped her into the tub. Jemma then proceeded to roll up her sleeves and wash Daisy gently. Daisy remained quiet until the question gnawing away at her suddenly burst forth.

"Why are you doing this?" The question must have caught Jemma off guard because she stopped rubbing Daisy's back.

"Pardon?"

"Why are you looking after me like this? I don't deserve it. I'm just a potential janitor." Her voice wavered and she felt tears burning in her eyes. She blinked them back.

"Oh, Daisy," Jemma murmured before answering the question. "I'm your friend; it's my job to look after you. And you are clearly need to be taken care of. When was the last time you had a shower?"

Daisy shrugged, suddenly becoming very interested in the soap suds in the tub.

"That long, huh?" Jemma's voice wasn't admonishing or scolding. It was kind and gentle, similar to a mother's tone. Daisy could only manage a tiny nod before a tear slipped out.

"I'm so sorry." It was barely a whisper, but Jemma heard it. She pulled Daisy close to her chest, where Daisy cried. Daisy didn't know how much time passed before she stopped crying, but the water was now lukewarm.

"Feel a bit better?" Daisy nodded mutely, letting Jemma finish washing her quickly and help her get dressed. Jemma then led Daisy through the base to the couch, which was thoroughly lined with pillows. She was wrapped up in the blanket and a large, steaming plate of lasagne was placed in front of her.

Her stomach's growl was so loud, Daisy was a little bit surprised it didn't cause an earthquake or something. A murmur of laughter rippled around the group and then they started chatting as Daisy ate her lasagne. It felt just like old times, and Daisy felt the urge to cry again.

"Daisy?" Coulson's voice was concerned and she vaguely registered him taking her hand in his. She forced back the tears and then pulled her hand away, even though it had felt really nice.

"Aren't you guys mad at me?" The question was out before Daisy's brain could check in. She lowered her gaze to the blanket in shame.

"Yeah," Fitz said, causing her to look up again. "We are. But we're more relieved and happy that you're back than we are mad."

A murmur of agreement came from the others and this time Daisy did cry. Fitz had said it. Fitz. The very same person who had yelled at her about turning her back on them just a few months ago.

All of them reached out and touched her comfortingly as she cried. No one had to say anything; all their words were said through their touches.

"I'm so sorry," Daisy uttered out between sobs. All of them gave her squeezes that said the same thing - they forgave her and were glad that she was back. It should have soothed her, but it instead made her cry harder. The others were patient with her as she let it all out.

But her crying abruptly stopped as she heard an unfamiliar female voice.

"Should I get you a tissue?" She looked up and saw a beautiful young woman with dark brown hair and kind brown eyes.

"Who the hell…?" Daisy mumbled. A second later, Radcliffe appeared, looking flustered.

"I am so sorry. I was trying to do an update and…oh, hello Daisy! Good to see you again!" He gave her a smile, which she did her best to return and then turned his attention back to the woman, guiding her out of the room. "AIDA, we've talked about this. You can't just walk out in the middle of an update! And we're going to have to work a bit on social etiquette…"

Daisy looked back to her team questioningly, all of whom seemed highly amused by what just happened.

"A lot of stuff happened while you were away," Coulson said. "We'll have to catch you up after you finish your food."

Daisy smiled a little. It was bigger than the others she had attempted before, and her heart felt a little less broken than it had the night before. If she was completely honest with herself, she'd missed this a lot. It felt really good to be home.

It felt even better to be able to call it home.


	6. Chapter 6: The Interrogation

**A/N:** It helps if you read "Shocking" by Book_freak first - /works/6612760

 **Warning:** Tooth-rotting fluff. Read at your own risk

* * *

The light was dim. There were two chairs, separated by a table. It was a scene straight out of a movie.

Except for the fact that the table was was the one they ate at and the chairs were the ones they sat in to eat. And the light was a vintage lamp, hence the dimness.

"Where is it, Daisy?" Bobbi placed her hands flat on the table, overshadowing the hacker. Daisy smiled innocently up at her.

"Where is what?" Bobbi's lips twitched upwards, and she let out a humourless breath of laughter as she pushed herself up off the table.

"Cute." Bobbi nodded as she stood back, arms across her chest. Daisy continued to look innocently at her. "The doughnut, Daisy. Where is it?"

"Oh! You mean that lousy doughnut!" Daisy said in an over-dramatic tone of realisation. "What's so special to you about that old thing?"

Bobbi raised her eyebrows, as if daring Daisy to insult the doughnut again.

"Daisy, Daisy, Daisy," she chastised, once again leaning on the table. "It's not just a doughnut. It is a mega-sized, chocolate filled, vanilla glazed doughnut. With sprinkles. Do you realise just how rare of a find that is?"

She pushed herself up again and circled slowly to behind Daisy, the same way a lion might circle its prey. She placed her hands on Daisy's shoulders and leaned in close to her ear.

"So, you're going to tell me where it is."

Daisy almost had to laugh at how cliche it all was. Even the way Bobbi had tied her to the chair was cliche. But she swallowed her laughter and kept the game up.

"What makes you think I haven't already eaten it myself?"

"If you had, your breath would smell like mint from trying to cover it up. It doesn't."

"Wow, look at you, Sherlock." Bobbi allowed a small smile on her part, and paused to let Daisy gloat in her smugness for a moment. It was going to be that much sweeter when she broke.

"So, are you going to tell me where it is, or am I going to have to force it out of you?" She punctuated her question with a firm squeeze of Daisy's shoulders.

"Ooh, I'm so scared," Daisy drawled, sarcasm dripping off every word. But Bobbi could feel small waves of nervousness rolling off her. Excellent.

"Have it your way." Bobbi lifted from Daisy's shoulders, barely able to keep the smile from her voice. "Lincoln!"

"Wait, what?" Daisy's interested piiqued. Lincoln emerged from the shadows, small bolts of electricity sparking in his hands. Daisy suddenly felt rather uneasy. "What's going on?"

Lincoln flashed a wicked smile at her, and Daisy swallowed. Hard.

"Lincoln?" He sparked again, and her eyes went wide with the sudden realisation of what was about to happen. "No."

"Last chance," Bobbi almost sang, not bothering to hide her smugness any longer. Daisy tugged at the ropes, inwardly cursing Bobbi for tricking her into wearing the gloves today. 'Jemma recommended you should after the excessive use of your powers yesterday', is what she had said. Unless she was able to get them off in the next thirty seconds, Daisy was toast.

"Bobbi, please don't!" she pleaded from her suddenly vulnerable position. Bobbi flashed an innocent smile at her. Touche.

"Have fun, kids!" She then turned and waltzed out of the room.

"No! Bobbi! No!" Bobbi ignored her. Daisy jumped slightly as the door slammed behind her. She was left alone with Lincoln.

"Lincoln?" Daisy's voice was soft and cautious. Lincoln smirked and stepped towards her. Daisy tried to squirm away. "Lincoln, you're meant to be on my side!"

"She offered me a bite if I could fine out where you hid it," he confessed, having the grace to look guilty.

"You-you traitor!" Daisy pulled her best 'betrayed' face, knowing that Lincoln couldn't bear to be the cause of her pain. She was proven right when he looked down to avoid her expression.

"Sorry." He shrugged slightly, and then closed the distance between them.

From outside, Bobbi listened with glee. She could hear Daisy's squeals and laughter and could envision her squirming and kicking, trying to get away. Good thing she'd tricked her into wearing the gloves. No way she was getting free.

She sipped her water as she waited. It wouldn't take too long - she knew from experience that tickle torture was one of the more effective ways of extracting information.

She was proven right, as five minutes later, Lincoln emerged, wearing a victorious smile.

"In a shoebox under her bed." Bobbi slapped him on the back affirmatively and started to walk off. She'd untie Daisy after she'd eaten the doughnut.

"Good work. Come on, I owe you a bite."


	7. Chapter 7: Bad Girl Shenanigans

**Prompt:** BioQuake + "On a scale of one to ten, how illegal do you think this is?"

* * *

"Probably about a thirteen," Daisy murmured, picking the lock. Jemma cast a look over her shoulder, though it was probably futile - this warehouse was right by the train tracks and currently abandoned.

"Couldn't we do this another way, Daisy?" Jemma pleaded, unable to get rid of the feeling of guilt from breaking the law.

"Don't really have a choice, Jems," Daisy said, standing up as the lock clicked open. "Currently, you're my prisoner, so…"

Jemma sighed. Of course she had to bring that minor detail up. It wasn't like she minded; she knew Daisy would never hurt her. But the fact that it was the second time in a month that Daisy had pointed a gun at her was slightly unnerving.

"Come on," Daisy said, tilting her head towards the open door, snapping Jemma out of her thoughts. She sighed again and walked inside. Daisy closed the door behind them, and then proceeded to lead the way up several flights of stairs, grabbing a backpack that she'd stashed there a couple of days ago along the way.

"Come on, Daisy," Jemma kept trying. "Surely there's another way to do it! You could, oh I don't know, wreck his car instead? Or find one of his family members?"

"Can't. He doesn't like his car enough for me to use it. And he doesn't have any living family. You're my next best option."

"I'm so flattered that I'm the first one you thought of," Jemma half-snapped sarcastically. Out of all the bad girl shenanigans, this one my far was probably the most illegal of them all.

"Glad to." Damn Daisy and her quick wit. Jemma grumbled to herself as she followed her friend up the last flight of stairs and past a few support pillars to reveal a chair and a camera on a tripod set up in front of it.

"Daisy, no!" Jemma whined. She thought it was just going to be a phone call and some good voice acting. "Why can't we just use a phone?"

"Jemma!" Daisy groaned, clearly getting a bit annoyed. "What's gotten into you? You've never been this difficult during our other 'bad girl shenanigans', as you so fondly call them."

"Oh, I don't know!" Jemma snapped, her voice still heavy with sarcasm. "Maybe it's the fact that you want to tie me up! I don't like being tied up!"

"Aw, quit your whinging! Not my fault SHIELD upgraded their firewalls."

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one getting tied up!" Daisy rolled her eyes.

"Just get in the chair. Please?" She pulled her best puppy eyes and Jemma relented, plopping down in the chair with a huff.

"Fine! But you owe me. Big time."

"Deal. Now, let's find out who Mace really is."


	8. Chapter 8: Goodbye

**Prompt:** BioQuake + "There are lots of ways to say goodbye."

 **A/N:** This is pure angst. But it's her own fault for giving me such an angsty prompt

* * *

There were so many ways to say it in English alone. Then there were several ways of saying it in other languages around the world. That was a lot of ways to say goodbye. All of them were sad - not because of the words themselves, but because of their implied meanings.

But perhaps the most heartbreaking way of saying goodbye was not saying it at all.

A tight hug. A small wave, accompanied by a smile that attempted to be brave. A handing of a small "going away" gift. A glass raised silently as a toast. A longing and hopeful gaze towards the person walking off.

The silent goodbyes that implied all that words would, but more.

Jemma was the only one who hadn't said anything to her. Coulson had given her a tight hug and told her to be careful. May had nodded at her and told her not to die. Fitz had given her a gift and said goodbye. Mack and given her a bear hug and told her that he'd see her again someday. Elena had also given her a hug and told her that she'd be in touch.

Jemma exited the lab and picked up her bags, walking her out to the helicopter. She'd then put the bags down and turned to face Daisy. Then, without saying a word, she'd slid her hands into her friends and looked at her sadly. She'd then leaned in and given Daisy a kiss on the cheek, then stepped back to let Daisy board the plane.

She'd stood there as Daisy climbed aboard and then pressed her face against the glass, wishing to see Jemma for as long as she possibly could. The mission she was going on…there was a very high likelihood that she'd not make it back. And if that were the case, one of her friends is what she'd like to be thinking about in her last breath.

As the helicopter rose off the roof, Jemma smiled a little, clearly trying to be brave. But Daisy could see that her heart was breaking as much as hers was. Jemma raised her hand and gave a small wave, and Daisy waved back as Jemma became smaller and smaller and then disappeared altogether as the plane turned.

Daisy couldn't quite peel herself away from the window, a heavy sadness weighing her heart down like lead. She blinked back tears as she spoke what could very well be her last words to her friend, even though she couldn't hear them.

"Goodbye, Jemma."


	9. Chapter 9: Zoos In The Time Of Hydra

**Prompt:** Fitzsimmons + zoo

* * *

It was just meant to be a simple zoo trip.

They'd packed a bag with picnic lunch and themselves with facts about the different animals to try and one-up each other with their knowledge. They'd packed extra sunscreen, a camera, a change of shoes, bandaids and everything else they could possibly need for a day at the zoo. Nothing could possibly go wrong!

Unless, of course, a bunch of ex-Hydra agents had decided that they, too, wanted to go to the zoo.

Jemma and Fitz had done a good job at evading them for a while, but they were eventually able to surround them, and they were forced to surrender; for their own safety and the safety of the civilians around them. They'd promptly been taken to an out-of-bounds-to-visitors part of the zoo and tied up back to back.

The upside of this was that they were still together. Unlike last time. Another plus is that Ward wasn't around, either. So, torture was slightly less likely. Fantastic.

"Well, this sucks," Fitz muttered, testing his restraints. They were too tight for him to wriggle out. Jemma hummed in agreement, leaning her head back against Fitz's head.

"How long d'ya think it'll be before they start looking for us?" Fitz wondered aloud after a moment of silence. Jemma closed her eyes, internally kicking herself for not having set up a checking in system in case something like this happened.

"Not for another five hours, at least," she said. "We took the whole day off."

Behind her, she could hear Fitz sigh in frustration, and she knew he was thinking the same thing as her. The two sat in silence, feeling quite discouraged. They were both racking their brains for a way to get out of their sticky situation.

"Come on!" she heard Fitz groan quietly after about ten minutes had passed. "We're scientists! We should be able to outsmart them!"

Jemma looked around, searching for something that could be used to cut through the ropes. She squinted as the sun bounced off something in the corner. Glass. Yes, that was perfect.

"Fitz, I can see broken glass in the corner!" She felt him try to turn his head. "I'm blocking your view. Work with me."

She felt Fitz nod, and together they slowly managed to inch their way over to the corner where the glass was. Jemma stopped and used her foot to grab a couple of pieces of glass and slide the over. With a bit more maneuvering and a couple of cuss words, both Fitz and Jemma soon were carefully cutting through the ropes.

It took quite a while, but they were able to cut through the ropes and stand up. They took a moment to stretch when they were finally free.

"Now, how to get out of here?" The entrance to the zone was undoubtedly being guarded. There was glass enclosing and high walls enclosing it on all sides. The glass was too high up for them to start waving, hoping someone would see their hands. The walls were too smooth to climb up. If she were to sit on Fitz's shoulders to wave, he'd soon tire, but if she thumped on the glass for quicker results, the ex-Hydra agents would surely hear them.

Fitz squinted as he examined the wall. He saw a small flat where the glass met the wall.

"Jemma, if I hoisted you up, do you think you could get your foot onto that flat up there and hold on?" Jemma looked up, trying to judge the distance between the flat and the top of the glass. She might be just the tiniest bit too short to hold on.

"I think so."

Fitz nodded and crouched down so that she could get on his shoulders and then he struggled to stand up. The first few attempts, he fell backwards, taking Jemma with him. Jemma did her best not to squeal, and for the most part, was able to stay quiet.

Fitz had just managed to stand with Jemma on his shoulders when one of the captors entered, bearing food. Both froze like a deer in the headlights. A few more agents entered and Fitz backed up a few steps.

"Not another step!" one of them barked, emerging from the small crowd. He appeared to be the leader of the group, Jemma noted as the others took a step back to let him be in front. Fitz stopped moving, and she could feel his legs shaking.

"Put 'er down."

"Dropping, Jemma," Fitz said softly and Jemma nodded, bracing herself for the hard landing, which came a second later. A ripple of laughter was heard from their captors at their ungraceful landing.

Both stood up, holding their hands up in surrender. Jemma couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at them. They'd ruined a perfectly good day at the zoo.

Beside her, she heard Fitz take a breath to start talking, undoubtedly to try an plead with them.

"Don't, Fitz," she said quickly, knowing that whatever he might say could cause more trouble than they were in already. She whispered a silent thank you when he closed his mouth.

"Smart one there." One of them remarked, his tone clearly indicating his wishes. Jemma did her best not to grimace, and instead rolled her eyes. The leader held up his finger to the man who'd said that, sending a disapproving glare his way. He shut his trap pretty quickly. The leader then turned back to them, nodding slightly in thought.

"Tommy's right," he decided, closing the distance between himself and Jemma. He reached out and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear as he spoke. "And I'll bet you have a mountain of secrets in that pretty little head of you just waiting to be revealed."

Jemma tensed, but didn't retaliate. Retaliating now would not end well. She saw Fitz trying to control himself, too, which she was grateful for. She knew how hard it was for him to see her being threatened; he was protective by nature.

"You'll never find out." Her eyes snapped up to his, full of fire. He smirked.

"Oh, but I will, sweet'art." With that, he grabbed her and whirled her around, wrapping his arm around her throat. Fitz lunged forward, but was hauled back by the others. Jemma tried to use what little she had learnt in combat to break free, but her efforts were in vain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him produce a needle and point it towards her neck.

"Night, night," he murmured and Jemma braced herself for the prick. But it never came. Instead, she felt herself topple backwards and she let out a grunt as she landed. Someone pulled her out of her headlock and push her aside. She blinked a few times as everything suddenly went quiet. She looked over and saw Fitz pulling himself up, and so she looked up to find out who had helped her.

She came face to face with…no. It couldn't be? Could it?

"Bobbi? Hunter?" Her two friends smiled in greeting.

"You okay?" Bobbi asked, holding out her hand while Hunter helped Fitz up.

"I, uh, yes, thank you," Jemma stuttered out, brushing herself up. "But…what are you doing here?"

"Same as you, love," Hunter said. "Enjoying a nice day at the zoo."

"But how did you…?" Fitz trailed off, using his arms to gesture the rest of his query.

"We spotted you and thought we might come say hello," Bobbi explained. "But then we saw these jokers," she motioned to the unconscious men on the ground, "and had to slip away to grab some weapons to help you."

Jemma put her hands on her hips. "Are you implying that you knew we'd be kidnapped?"

"It's happened once before," Hunter pointed out. Fitzsimmons opened their mouths to protest, but Bobbi cut them off.

"What he means is that Hydra knew your faces from that time, so the likelihood of them kidnapping you was higher. And we didn't bring any weapons with us, so we had to duck out and grab them."

"Oh, well, thank you!" Fitz said and Jemma nodded.

"How can we say thanks?" Jemma offered. Bobbi and Hunter exchanged a look and then nodded.

"How about you buy us lunch?"


	10. Chapter 10: Scream

**Prompt:** Fitzsimmons + "I bet I can make you scream my name"

* * *

"It's on."

Jemma and Fitz stood staring at each other as if a Wild Western showdown were about to go down. Fitz's lips twitched upwards.

"What do I get if I win?" Jemma inquired. Fitz licked his lips in deep thought. Jemma chomped down on her bottom lip. Why did he have to be one of those people who had the ability to be effortlessly hot?

"The loser has to do whatever the other person says for a whole day." Jemma's eyebrows shot up.

"The _whole_ day? Wouldn't that interfere with our work?"

"No! We're both reasonable adults. We have the ability to control ourselves and only make reasonable demands." Upon seeing Jemma's hesitation, Fitz leaned back smugly. "Unless, of course, you're scared to lose."

That struck a nerve, and Fitz knew it. He knew that she was the bravest person in perhaps the entire team, and he knew that she knew it. After all, it was _Jemma_ who had survived 4 months on that planet, enduring things the others couldn't even begin to understand. No, people would have to be absolute fools to call _her_ scared.

"Deal." Jemma held out her hand, which Fitz shook. And so the bet was in motion.

This was going to be fun.

Over the next few days, the two tried many different ways to make the other scream their name. Everything from _really_ good sex to irritating the heck out each other was used, but the two remained as stubborn as ever. Jemma had even gone so far as to put Fitz's favourite sandwich next to an incredibly smelly alien substance they were working on.

He'd nearly snapped. Multiple times. He almost hated Jemma for being stronger and more put together than him; that her temper was much more under control. It sucked that it only made him angrier and more determined to beat her.

The rest of the team had caught wind, and were enjoying the competition immensely. They'd even found out that Daisy had started a pool, which only fueled their determination.

In every spare moment he had, Fitz was researching ways to make people scream, but all his attempts were futile. It was increasingly frustrating. Then, one day in early October, he came across a random blog page, talking about how much the writer liked Halloween. He had no idea how he had found it, but he did know that he'd just hit the jackpot.

Jemma would be screaming his name in no time. He just had to hold out for the 31st.

As the day rapidly approached, Fitz changed his research time to creating time. He was going to give Jemma the scare of her life. He went out, collecting the spookiest things he could find, and was even able to sweet-talk his way into borrowing some of his friend's spooky things. Soon, he had a plan set out. He just needed a couple of hours to set it all up.

Fortunately for him, Jemma was out for most of the afternoon on a mission, and wouldn't be back until after the sun had set. Perfect. That gave him _plenty_ of time. As he set up, he asked each of his friends not to touch anything as he encountered them. They agreed with smirks and faces full of glee.

The time soon came, and Fitz grinned sinisterly from his hiding place in the shadows as Jemma boarded the plane, quite clearly tired from her mission. The look of exhaustion on her face was almost enough to make him feel bad for what he was doing.

Almost.

He quietly followed her until she reached the bathroom. He then made himself comfortable in a chair outside, waiting to hear his name. He spotted Daisy hiding in the shadows, and he gave her a little wave. She responded by flashing him a toothy grin.

"Oh, yuck!" Jemma's voice came from inside and Fitz smirked. His name was definitely going to come next. Sure enough, a second later, he heard his name. Just not how he had expected it.

"Fitz?" Jemma poked her head out and he looked up. She didn't sound scared at all. "Were you the one who brutally murdered the dummy in the shower and then spread pig's blood everywhere?"

So one plan didn't work. No matter; there were plenty more pranks hidden around the Bus. He responded to her question by shrugging a "yes".

"Okay." With that, Jemma disappeared back into the bathroom. That was followed by a thump (removing the dummy) and the sound of water running. Fitz shrugged to himself. It was only a matter of time before she screamed his name.

After her shower, they walked around together, Fitz being careful not to point out any particular thing, trying to keep Jemma on her toes. But with each prank they encountered, Jemma didn't seem at all phased. She'd simply comment on his creativity or how intricate it looked.

But it wasn't her praise that made him happy. He wanted her to get scared, which he did achieve in a couple of his pranks when he caught Jemma's little frightened gasp or slight jump. But she always covered it up quickly with praise.

They then finally settled down in the lounge with all the others - Coulson, May, Daisy, Mack and Elena. They dug into the spooky Halloween treats that Coulson had picked out and shared scary and funny Halloween stories from their childhood.

Daisy then started tossing candy corn at Jemma, who swatted them away, scolding her. A few landed on the floor behind the couch, and Jemma got up to retrieve them.

"Daisy! You've got to stop being such a child-" She was abruptly cut off my someone or something in the shadows grabbing her and pulling her back. She let out a shriek as she disappeared into the darkness.

Silence followed.

Fitz was the first on his feet. "JEMMA!"

He drew his ICER and made his way towards the darkness, ignoring the fact that no one else had moved. He suddenly blinked in fright as the lights came on, revealing Jemma in Robbie's arms, both of them grinning widely. Fitz gaped. Robbie nodded a hello. Jemma stepped forward, wearing a smug grin.

"I win."


	11. Chapter 11: Radcliffe's New Carpet

**A/N:** For notinkbutagoldensplash on Tumblr.

 **Prompt (that I chose myself):** "Don't bleed on my floor"

* * *

"If I see even one drop of her blood, you're going to be bleeding all over the floor."

"But that won't kill it, May," Coulson pointed out, running through options in his head of how to save Daisy. Daisy had her arm twisted behind her back and her head pinned against the vampire's shoulder. She was trying to control her breathing, but the others knew it wasn't easy when a vampire was threatening to suck all of the blood out of your body.

"Don't care," May muttered. She'd been in rehab for 4 months, and was just itching for a good fight.

"May, I'd prefer it if you just staked it!" Radcliffe pleaded from his place behind the kitchen counter. "I really don't want blood on my floor! The carpet is brand new!"

Jemma and Fitz simultaneously shot him an incredulous look, as if they couldn't believe that he was more concerned about his carpet than their friend. He shot them an apologetic look.

"Last chance," Coulson warned, gripping the stake-shooting gun (an ingenious creation on Fitzsimmons part) a little tighter. The vampire laughed lowly.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" he snarled. "Oh wait! You're going to do it anyway. I may as well go out with one more meal."

He licked his lips, and rested his fangs on Daisy's exposed neck, eliciting a small whimper from her. From where she was, she couldn't see any of her friends. The last thing she was going to see was a ceiling. A ceiling. That was so underwhelming.

Ever since she'd joined SHIELD, she'd envisioned herself going out in a heroic fashion. Not outsmarted by a lousy vampire. It was almost embarrassing, really. It must be even more embarrassing for poor Radcliffe who, despite him being one of the smartest people she knew, had somehow stupidly managed to invite a vampire inside his house.

If only he'd kept his big inviting mouth shut. Then they wouldn't be in this mess.

But it wasn't fair, really, blaming Radcliffe. They'd all somehow missed the fact that it was a vampire, so the fault was as much theirs as it was his. Either way, they should have all been more observant.

So that's what Daisy tried. Observing. She couldn't see much, but she was able to gauge the amount of light in the room. It was oddly dark for the middle of the day. Then she remembered - the blinds. The vampire had closed the blinds last night as he'd chatted with the others. He'd must have found a way to keep them closed all this time.

Now, if she could just find a way to get him to move closer to the window…

From where she was standing, May noticed Daisy struggling with her feet. It was subtle, but she noticed it. She looked up and around and saw the blinds. She inched her way over, ducking behind Coulson so the vampire didn't pay attention to her. Coulson did a good job in trying to talk the vampire down. If he just kept going for two more seconds, she could pull this off.

"Hey, Radcliffe, your carpets flammable?" May asked, catching everyone's attention.

"Yes, incredibly. Why?"

"Better grab your fire extinguisher then," May said, meeting the vampire's eye. Seeming to know exactly what she was going to do, he bit into Daisy. She let out a loud whimper and then went silent. May opened the blinds. Sunlight poured in. The vampire let out an agonised shriek and dove into the shade. Everyone rushed at once.

May leaped over to the burning creature. Radcliffe ran over with the fire extinguisher. Coulson knelt down next to Daisy. Jemma and Fitz knelt down next to him. They were joined by May shortly afterwards.

"Daisy?" Coulson asked, cupping her head in his hands. She looked pale - too pale. But she was still conscious. That was something.

"Coulson." Her voice was barely a whisper, and her eyes were slowly closing.

"No, Daisy, stay with me. Come on." Coulson gripped her head a little tighter, willing her to stay.

"Blood type." Coulson looked up at Jemma. "What's her blood type?"

"AB positive," he said. Jemma nodded.

"Fitz, blood bags." Fitz passed her the blood, which Jemma immediately started to give to Daisy.

"Wait, don't you have to check-"

"The bag's blood type?" Fitz interrupted. "No need. AB positive is a universal recipient."

"Come on. Let's get her back to the Bus," Jemma said, standing up. "Make sure that blood bag stays attached to her arm."

Coulson scooped Daisy up and carried her out towards the Bus. The others followed, May coming last. Before she left, she cast a glance over at Radcliffe, kneeling sadly next to his burnt and dust-ridden carpet.

"Little advice, Radcliffe?" He looked up. "Next time, invest in some tiles."


	12. Chapter 12: Lincoln

Prompted by agentcarter45 to write something where Jemma has to "reboot" Daisy like she had to with May, but instead of seeing Coulson, Daisy sees Lincoln.

Follow-up to "Radcliffe's New Carpet"

* * *

"Why do you insist I keep killing my friends?"

Jemma was done. No, that was an understatement. She was angry. Radcliffe was supposed to come up with the cures _before_ these sorts of things happened. To be fair, most of the time he didn't know what the problem was until after one of them had gotten hurt, but this time was different: he'd been working on a cure for two weeks now. And with the highest-grade technology available to him, he ought to have found it by now.

"It's the only way to save them, Jemma!"

Radcliffe was also exasperated. It wasn't _his_ fault that rebooting these agents was the only way to save them. _They_ were the ones that kept getting themselves into these situations. It wasn't _his_ fault that there weren't any non-lethal solutions.

"Fine!" Jemma threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "But, if she doesn't wake up-"

"She will." Radcliffe didn't know if she would or not, but he had to at least pretend he was certain she would. _He'd_ be the one not waking up if he didn't. He nodded and Jemma injected her friend before she could change her mind. She watched as Daisy died in front of her.

* * *

Warm. She felt so warm. But not like feverish warm. More like lying-by-the-pool-in-summer warm. It felt nice.

Daisy wasn't exactly sure where she was. She could be at a beach, or she could be in a hospital somewhere. After all, didn't that vampire thing happen? She tried to reach up and touch her neck, but her arms felt heavy, like they did when she woke up slowly on a Sunday morning. And she felt so warm. She didn't _want_ to move. If she did, she may lose the warm feeling.

But she did squirm slightly when a bug bit bit her in the neck. Those bugs were super pesky. She soon felt a dreariness come over her and she closed her eyes. Yes, this is just what she needed - an afternoon nap.

She closed her eyes and let the sleep take over. It was then that she saw Lincoln. He was wearing that blue shirt he looked oh so sexy in (it was her favourite shirt on him) and he was smiling and waving at her. He seemed to be moving closer and Daisy smiled.

"Hey, Lincoln!" she called, and she saw his smile grow even bigger. He reached her and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"I've missed you, Daisy. Don't be scared, now. It's gonna be alright. Everything's going to be alright."

Then everything went black.

Daisy sat up, gasping, as if she'd just broken the surface of the water. What happened? Last thing she remembered, Lincoln was holding her. Where was he.

"Lincoln?"

"No, Daisy, shhh," Jemma soothed, grabbing her in a hug. "It's me. Jemma. You're okay. Thank god."

Daisy looked around. She was inside SHIELD. She was surrounded by her friends. Everything suddenly came flooding back. Lincoln's death. The vampire. The warm feeling. It all hit her like a block of concrete. She began to cry.

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and she leaned into them, needing a hug.

"I saw him," she whispered in between sobs. "I saw Lincoln. H-He h-h-hugged m-me."

Her hugger said nothing, only held stroked her gently, whispering the occasional hush. It took a while, but she eventually calmed down. But even after she'd finished crying, she didn't want to leave the hug. It felt so nice.

But she had to when two sets of footsteps entered. She swiped at her eyes and sniffled as Coulson and May stopped at the bed she was lying on. Coulson handed her a bottle of water.

"Dying makes you thirsty." Daisy accepted the bottle with a wet laugh. May picked up her other hand and tenderly held it in her own. Daisy met May's gaze, and she knew that May knew instantly.

"You saw him, didn't you?" Daisy nodded, and May squeezed her hand. Daisy appreciated it. Jemma continued rubbing her back, while shooting daggers at Radcliffe who just looked at her like an innocent puppy dog. Daisy took a few sips of water and then put the bottle down. All eyes shot up at Coulson when he spoke again.

"I really do need to get those club t-shirts."


	13. Chapter 13: Called It

**Prompt:** Fitzsimmons + "I know it's 3 in the morning, but I've lost my cat"

* * *

Fitz groaned as he was awakened by a knock at his door. He rolled over and squinted at the clock. It said it was three o'clock in the morning. Who in the world could be knocking on his door in the wee hours of the morning?

"Bloody hell," he moaned, pushing himself up as the knocking persisted. "Keep your shirt on, I'm coming."

He swung open the door, muttering a few extra curses to himself. He stopped when he saw who it was - a young, blonde girl. She definitely wasn't in any of his classes (he'd _know_ if she was; hers was a face not easily forgotten). She looked tired, frazzled and determined all at once.

"Look, I know it's 3 in the morning, but I can't find my cat."

Interesting. Not even an introduction. Who was this girl. Fitz scratched his head and yawned.

"Fitz. Engineering. Your missing cat is relevant to me, how?"

"Because you're the best cat hunter around, mate!" Hunter appeared beside her and Fitz dropped his head, whispering another 'bloody hell'.

"That was _one_ time, Hunter. And it was a pure accident that I just _happened_ to find it."

"Don't listen to him," he said to the girl, who appeared quite embarrassed by her initial rudeness of not introducing herself. "He's a genius! He'll be able to find your cat in a jiffy."

Fitz groaned and slammed his fist against the door frame. Hunter was a bloody nuisance. He wondered what Bobbi saw in him.

"Shouldn't you be sweating it up with Bobbi?" The girl raised her eyebrows.

"Wait, you're Bobbi's boyfriend?" She sounded amused, like she knew all their dirty little secrets.

"Ugh, Fitz, why can't you keep your mouth shut?" Hunter half-snapped, walking away. Fitz glared daggers into his back.

"Well, maybe if you did once in a while, I'd consider it!" Fitz called after him, before turning back to the girl at his door. "Sorry, miss, but I can't help you find your cat."

"No, I'm sorry, for bothering you," she said, looking down at the ground. As if on cue, a white and brown cat scampered up and started rubbing Fitz's legs. The girl's' face lit up.

"Xenon!" she exclaimed, scooping the cat up. Fitz raised his eyebrows. She was _definitely_ with Biochem. Only Biochem students would name their pet after an element. She stood up and met his eyes with an apologetic smile.

"I really am sorry. I hope you can get back to sleep."

She turned on her heel and started to walk away. Fitz watched her go until he suddenly realised he still didn't know her name.

"Hey!" he called out. She stopped and turned around. "I didn't catch your name."

She smiled, looking quite embarrassed again. She ducked her head for a moment before she looked at him again.

"I'm Jemma Simmons. Biochem." Fitz allowed himself a small victorious smile.

 _Called it._


	14. Chapter 14: Cuddles

**Prompt:** Fitzsimmons + "You knocked on my door at 1 in the morning, to cuddle?"

 **A/N:** Set in season 1

* * *

Jemma gasped and shot upright. She panted as her eyes darted around the room. When she saw it was her bunk, she smiled to herself and shook her head. It was just a bad dream, nothing more. She glanced down at her alarm clock.

1:00

Jemma sighed and flopped back down. She knew she wasn't going to get any more sleep for a while. She stared at the ceiling, wondering what to do. She still felt quite scared (it'd been an _awfully_ bad dream). Oftentimes she could soothe herself by listing all the elements in the periodic table, or reciting some of Shakespeare's works in her head. But they didn't work this time. She still felt restless.

She didn't want to, but Jemma found herself getting up and heading outside her bunk, towards Fitz's. No matter how she felt, he always made her feel better.

The Bus was silent when she exited her bunk. But it was to me expected; everyone was asleep. Well, everyone except May who was flying the Bus (although Coulson was due to take over control in about an hour). The silence felt quite nice. Jemma padded over to Fitz's door and knocked quietly.

"Fitz?" A few seconds later, the door opened and Fitz appeared, looking quite frazzled.

"Jemma? It's one o'clock in the morning. What're you doing?"

"I had a bad dream." His confused gaze softened into one of sympathy and he shuffled back to his bed.

"Come on, then," he instructed, squeezing himself up against the wall.

"What?"

"Come on, Jemma. We both know you're not going to get any sleep on your own. And I don't want to be up all night because of it. So come on."

He motioned to the bed. Jemma hesitated before she ducked inside, closing the door behind her. She lay down on the bed, her back to Fitz. It felt odd, really. Fitz was her best friend, and here she was, spooning him. But he had a point, really. She wasn't going to get any more sleep unless she got a cuddle from him, and based on his tired state, this was the best way to do it.

So she settled in, doing her best to ignore the uncomfortable feeling. A little squeeze on her tummy from Fitz's hand made her jump.

"It's okay, Jemma. Just go to sleep." She nodded and decided to let the nice feeling of being held by Fitz wash over her, almost completely erasing the uncomfortable feeling. She allowed herself a small smile as she began to doze off again.

And so Jemma slept in Fitz's arms.


	15. Chapter 15: Touche

**Prompt:** StaticQuake + "You knocked on my door at 1 in the morning, to cuddle?"

* * *

Daisy Johnson had always been a human puppy. She loved to give hugs, and she loved to receive hugs. In fact, she was pretty sure that she'd have very little objections in someone just let her lay on their lap all day and pet her.

It was sort of like a craving that never went away. Which means she got the urge to hug at the most random, and sometimes, most inconvenient times.

Like one o'clock in the morning, per say.

Daisy groaned and pulled the pillow over her face. Midnight cuddle cravings were the _worst_. She couldn't sleep until she'd gotten her cuddle. But it was the middle of the night, and she had no desire to wake anyone. But she knew that the longer she lay there, the more intense the urge would become, and the longer she'd have to cuddle before she could go back to sleep.

She quickly gave up and exited her bunk, making a beeline for Lincoln's bunk. The base was relatively quiet, exempt of a few night workers roaming around. A few threw a friendly smile at her and she did her best to smile back. But it was hard in her hug-deprived state.

"Lincoln," she called, knocking loudly on his door. "Open up."

She waited a few seconds as he opened the door. He looked both tired, shocked and a little bit shaken up. Perhaps she shouldn't have knocked so loudly.

"Daisy, it's one in the morning," he grumbled quietly. "Why are you not in bed, asleep, like a normal person?"

"Because I'm not a normal person," she retorted. "Normal people don't have powers."

"Touche. But that still doesn't answer my question."

"I need cuddles. And you're going to give them to me." She didn't even wait for an invitation before she lightly pushed past, making herself comfortable on his bed. Lincoln just stared at her.

"Well?" she asked expectantly. "I'm waiting."

He sighed, closing the door and then shuffling back to his bed. He lay down, motioning for Daisy to do the same.

"I swear you get cuddle cravings at the worst times," he muttered, pulling her in tight. She rested her head on his chest, letting out a small, contented sigh.

"I know. But if you're gonna be my boyfriend, you're just going to have to learn to deal with it." She looked up at him. "Do you think you can do that?"

"I think I can power through," he said, letting a burst of electricity buzz through him. Daisy laughed and cringed upon hearing his joke.

"I swear to god, Lincoln, your puns are the worst!" she groaned, although she couldn't hide the fact that she was amused. Lincoln grinned.

"I know. But if you're gonna be my girlfriend, you're going to have to learn to deal with it."

"Touche."


	16. Chapter 16: Jemma's Ghost

Based on the Cordelia and Dennis thing in Angel

* * *

Jemma sighed and rubbed her eyes, before placing her hands on the sink. Everyone thought so highly of promotions and sugar-coated them as something to be sought after. But what they didn't tell you is that the workload only got heavier, and the days got longer and harder.

Looking in the mirror, Jemma could see the toll it was taking on her.

She had bags under her eyes, and her cheeks were looking hollower than they had a couple weeks back; she'd been so busy she'd sometimes had to neglect eating. Even Fitz hadn't had much success in making sure she ate - after all, she only saw him at home.

Well, see was a bit of a stretch, really.

Behind her, Jemma heard the water reaching the top of the tub, so she turned and shut the taps off. The bubbles rose to form little white mountains in her bathtub. She stripped and climbed in, embracing the warmth the water gave her.

Above her, the scrub brush appeared in mid-air and she smiled softly, nodding. The brush moved around to behind her and began to rub against her back gently.

"Oh, Fitz," she murmured wearily. "What would I do without you?"

While she loved Fitz dearly, most people got freaked out by him. Probably because they couldn't see him, which Jemma could totally understand. After all, it was natural to be afraid of what couldn't be seen or predicted. But Jemma wasn't; she and Fitz had clicked almost instantly. Most likely because it was Jemma who had found justice for him.

But the story behind his death was a long story, one that required a cup of tea and a few gluten free biscuits to explain. What Jemma often just told people who had found out is that Fitz had been a ghost for a little over three months, and that he was a friendly ghost - Jemma could always count on him to take care of things when she was away at work or otherwise. He'd even scared off an intruder!

Jemma suddenly felt a jolt and she looked up with a start. She could see a message on her mirror, written in blood

Go to bed, Jemma. Get some rest.

"Ugh, Fitz!" Jemma said crossly. "How many times do I have to tell you: use a marker to write on the mirror! Not blood! Where'd you find that blood anyway?"

Honouring her request, a marker appeared and he wrote under the bloody message.

Sorry. The blood came from the intruder downstairs.

"What did you do to him?" Jemma sighed, closing her eyes momentarily as the marker squeaked across the glass. When she opened her eyes, a new message was written.

Stabbed him a couple of times with the steak knife.

Jemma sighed again. That was her favourite knife. He had better not have stabbed the intruder on her carpet. If she found stains in the morning she was going to…well, she didn't know exactly what she was going to do. She'd figure it out when the time came.

She climbed out of the now lukewarm tub, dried off and slipped on her pyjamas. She took a step and stumbled from the sheer exhaustion, but she quickly felt a strong grip around her waist. She managed a weak smile as she and Fitz shuffled to her bedroom.

Fitz helped her into bed, and she felt a few soft strokes on her forehead. She smiled again at him. She could imagine him smiling back at her.

"Thanks, Fitz. Take care of the mess downstairs for me, please? I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight."

Fitz turned the light off in goodnight to her.


	17. Chapter 17: Confessions

**Prompt:** "Confessions"

* * *

There were several ways to extract a confession from someone.

Perhaps the most common one was torture. The human body could only withstand a certain amount of pain before it gave way. But that was hardly an acceptable way for a leader to act.

Then there was tickle torture. It could be just as effective as actual torture, if used correctly. And it didn't leave the inflicted with any scars - physical, emotional or mental. But while Coulson was playful, he wasn't that playful. Besides he'd learnt his lesson years ago when he'd attempted to use it on May.

He still had the scar just below his collarbone.

There was also the option to wait until it was late at night, when the assumed guilty had let down their guard. It was even better if you could catch them as they were drifting off to sleep. But Coulson couldn't wait for night to come.

Then there was the intimidation tactic. If Coulson was honest, he quite enjoyed this method. It didn't require any pain or embarrassment of any sort. Just a bit of a persona shift. Now, looking at the screens, he smiled a little bit. It'd only be a matter of time before they were ready to talk.

* * *

Daisy sighed and licked her lips, shifting slightly in her seat. The last time she'd been on this side of the table in the Interrogation Room was when Ward and Coulson had nabbed her from her van, years ago. She smiled a little, remembering.

Fun times.

She knew Coulson didn't treat anyone unfairly. Ever. So she knew that she probably deserved to be on this side of the table. Scratch that, she definitely deserved it. But she was never going to admit that to him.

No, she knew exactly what game Coulson was playing, and she was going to play it until the end.

* * *

Jemma took a deep breath to soothe herself. She'd never been on the bad guy's side of the Interrogation table. It made her feel quite uneasy, which was odd.

After all, she'd been through how many bad girl shenanigans with Daisy now? And yet she still couldn't shake the nervous feeling inside of her that she was going to get severely punished, even though technically she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Snap out of it, Jemma!" she scolded herself. "You're not that naive young scientist that Coulson picked years ago! You're strong. You can handle anything."

The words did calm her a little, and so she thought back to all the other times she'd broken the rules, and especially back to Maveth. Those things had been far worse, and she smiled to herself as she remembered how she'd beaten them.

She could beat this. Piece of cake.

* * *

Fitz knew exactly what Coulson was playing at. It was ingenious, really, using their respect and admiration for him against them. But it was also quite ingenious of him to know what Coulson was doing.

It meant that it wouldn't work on him.

He smirked at the knowledge and ducked his head so Coulson (who he knew was watching them) couldn't see. No good to him if Coulson knew that he knew.

* * *

It'd been an hour, and Coulson thought they'd stewed long enough; he could see them getting fidgety. He smiled to himself. He was about to find out who stole his muffin.

* * *

Daisy startled as the door opened and Coulson walked in. She grinned up at him.

"Hey, AC. What up?"

He settled down silently into the chair opposite her, sitting in a way that intimidated her slightly. She bit the inside of her cheek and forced herself to hold his gaze. Looking away was the first sign of guilt.

"So, you gonna tell me where it is?"

"No." She chomped down on her bottom lip to suppress a smile at his dumbfounded reaction. She knew he'd probably expected her to deny knowing anything about the situation.

Daisy, 1. Coulson, 0.

"Why not?" Coulson leaned back in his chair, turning his hands upwards in question. Daisy bit back a laugh at the Coulson-ness of the comeback. "You out of everyone should know that it's not pleasant when someone takes your food."

Clever, Coulson. Using my love for food against me. But not clever enough.

"Because I don't know where it is." She shrugged her shoulders, looking at him innocently. She noticed him tense in annoyance and she swallowed hard to hide her smile.

Daisy, 2. Coulson, 0.

Coulson sighed and then got up before walking out the door. After the door shut, Daisy broke out into a grin. Coulson had no retorts. She was in control of her interrogation.

Daisy, 3. Coulson, 0.

* * *

Jemma looked up from where she was doodling on the table with her finger when Coulson walked in. She smiled at him confidently.

"Hello, Coulson!"

"Hey, Simmons," he answered, sitting down opposite her. She quietly took a deep breath. "You know why I've got you here, don't you?"

"But of course," she said. "You're upset because someone stole your muffin, for which I deeply apologise for. It's not easy having someone else steal your muffin."

She shot him a sympathetic glance and placed her hand comfortingly on his arm, almost laughing at his shocked look.

"Like I was saying, your muffin was stolen, and you somehow suspect me of stealing it, which is why I'm here now."

"So, did you steal it?" Coulson's direct question should have caught her off guard, but it didn't. Perhaps it was all those polygraphs she'd been forced to take when Mace was the director.

"Do you really think I'd tell you that if I had?" She smirked as Coulson went silent. He had no retort. She knew a thing or two about deflection, thanks to those dumb polygraphs. Her smirk grew into a smile as he got up and left the room.

Jemma had officially just beaten her first interrogation.

* * *

Fitz was standing up when Coulson entered. He nodded to his boss, who nodded back.

"Sir." Coulson say down in the interrogator chair.

"Have a seat, Fitz." Fitz did as he was told. He could just fight back, but that would just make Coulson suspect him more. No, it was much safer (and much more fun) if he played along, so he could crush Coulson.

"So, do you have any knowledge about a situation involving a large chocolate muffin that was stolen?"

"Of course, sir. You're outraged rant could be heard from even the basement!" He bit his tongue to fight off his smirk as Coulson gave him an unamused glare.

"Let me re-phrase that. Did you have anything to do with the disappearance of that muffin?"

"'Course not, sir," Fitz flashed him an innocent smile, "I'd never steal your muffin."

He sat still as Coulson searched his face, sighed and then got up and left. His fake smile turned to a real one at having been beaten Coulson. He wondered if the others had been able to hold out.

* * *

Coulson let out a sigh when he reached his office. His three suspects were proving tough to crack. They were full of witty responses, leaving him speechless. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought they actually expected him to suspect them and then pull this stunt.

He shook his head. That wasn't possible. He'd told no one about who he did and did not suspect, and he'd not told anyone of his plans to interrogate them. It was only a coincidence that they'd all managed to outsmart him. He glanced up at the screens and nodded to himself.

It was time to bring out the big guns.

* * *

Daisy, Jemma and Fitz were pushed down onto the bench next to each other, and they exchanged small smiles as the SHIELD agents who had escorted them stepped back. They were about to start chatting when Coulson stepped forward, and they closed their mouths.

They maintained eye contact with him. They'd beaten him in their individual interrogations; there was no way in hell they were losing out now. They were thrown when Coulson's "Top Boss" persona slid away, revealing his Parental persona.

Daisy swallowed. Hard. She knew what was coming. She just prayed she was able to hold out. It probably wouldn't affect Fitz and Simmons as much, but then again, she wasn't in their heads, so she didn't know.

"I'm disappointed in you three. One of you took it, I know that much. I just wish one of you were brave enough to confess to it." He looked at each of them with an incredibly disappointed glare.

Daisy ducked her head, ashamed. She hated when he was disappointed in her. Fitz clenched his fist discreetly. He hated anyone challenging his, or Jemma's, bravery. But a quick pinch from Daisy caused him to check in. It was just a ploy from Coulson, to get them to confess. He breathed deeply and looked away.

On the other side of Daisy, Jemma had also looked away, unable to bear the look Coulson was giving them. She respected him, and even though it mattered less now than it used to, she still greatly valued his opinion of her. But she knew well enough that at its core, his words were just a tactic to break them.

"So, which one of you is it?" The three didn't answer, keeping their heads down. He sighed. "I am very disappointed in all three of you."

With that, he turned on his heel and left.

* * *

 **23 minutes later…**

"That had better have been worth it!" Daisy declared, entering May's bunk with Fitz and Jemma in tow. May looked up with a smirk on her face.

"It is." She stepped aside to reveal, not just the muffin but a small feast of other snacks. All three of them gaped.

"But…what?" Jemma stuttered out.

"Gotta find something to do with my free time," she said, motioning for them to sit down.

"But how to you manage to get other agents to agree to this?" Fitz asked. "Speaking of which, why aren't they here?"

"There's an upside to being feared," Daisy, Fitz and Jemma chuckled at that, "And they're not here because they broke under pressure. They don't deserve any of the spoils."

"Melinda May, you are the most evil person I have met," Daisy said with a huge smile on her face. May smiled back as she passed a fork to each of them. They dug into the muffin.

It was the most delicious muffin they'd ever tasted.


	18. Chapter 18: Bobbi and The Brit

**Prompt:** "We bumped into each other while stealing the same diamond and almost got caught because we were arguing over which one can have it"  
Crime AU

* * *

The job was simple: get in, get the diamond, get out.

Of course, simple jobs _never_ ended up being simple. There was always _some_ idiot who managed to screw it up and make it complicated. Often, those idiots were titled "the police".

But this time, the idiot was some British guy.

"I had it first," the man hissed. Bobbi quirked an eyebrow.

"What are we? Fifth graders? That diamond is rightfully mine."

"I don't see your name on it, love."

Okay, yup. _Definitely_ a fifth grader. Bobbi wanted to separate his head from his neck. But she knew that would raise a lot of questions, so she took an alternative route - manipulate his British status.

"You're British, aren't you?" he nodded, "well, aren't Brits supposed to be chivalrous and you know, _not_ take something that's been rightfully stolen."

"Oh and I suppose that 'rightfully' stealing it is morally better than flat-out stealing it?" His voice was slightly raised. Bobbi glared daggers at him. She hated how he was so witty.

"It is if you've been planning a heist for _five weeks_!" she snapped. Her voice was now slightly raised as well.

"Tough luck, love," he said, yanking his arms towards himself in an attempt to snatch the treasure away. But Bobbi held firm. This guy was _really_ getting under her skin.

"I swear, if you don't let go, I'll knock you out!" she growled, pulling at the box that held the diamond. The British man chuckled.

"Promises, promises. Besides, what makes you think that you deserve this more than me? Is it because you're a yank? A woman? A better thief than I am?"

"Yes." His eyebrows shot up, and then furrowed as he frowned at her.

"Easy on the attitude, love!" He was now almost shouting.

"It's not attitude if I know I'm right!" she retorted. Her voice was as loud as his.

"Bloody hell!" he shouted. "That's the problem with you yanks: you're all arrogant!"

"Oh, and I suppose you Brits are better because you're not?"

"Damn straight, love."

Bobbi barked out a laugh, "Oh, that's rich!"

The Brit opened his mouth to respond, when they heard footsteps. They shared a fearful look with each other, put the diamond back and ducked under the table to hide. They held their breaths as the footsteps drew closer.

"I know you're in here! Come out with your hands up!"

Bobbi silently cursed the security guard. Why couldn't he be asleep like a _normal_ security guard. Screw him for being competent.

She glanced over at the Brit beside her and smirked. Silently, she began to slide out from under the table, but on the opposite side to the security guard. As she did, she gave him a nice big shove. He toppled out onto the floor in front of the security guard.

"Freeze! Hands where I can see them!"

Bobbi smirked and silently rolled back to behind the cabinet. She could hear the Brit trying to dob her in, but he was shushed by the security guard.

"Silence, thief! Your little tricks won't work on me!"

She heard the guard pulling him up and cuffing him, and then leading him out of the building. When the door closed, she let out a little giggle and peeked out from her hiding spot.

The coast was clear.

Bobbi quietly crept over to the window, peering out just in time to see the man being led away in cuffs. He looked up and Bobbi took the opportunity to give a playful little wave, accompanied by a smug smirk, before ducking away.

As she retrieved the diamond, she could hear the man shouting about her being in there. She didn't know whether or not the police believed him, but it didn't matter; she had her diamond and was already heading out. She allowed herself to chuckle.

That should teach him not to mess around with her heists.


End file.
